Abstract
Twelve pieces of longissimus dorsi were processed into Chinese traditional dry-cured loins. The changes in the proteolylic enzymes activities, myofibrillar proteins degradation, and free amino acids content were investigated during processing. Compared with fresh piece (0 day), the cathepsin B + L and calpains activities decreased after dry-curing and maintained potential activities values of 23.25 and 15.04% in the final products, respectively. The myosin heavy chain (MHC) and C protein were intensely degraded at the dry-ripened stage; the 50 kDa desmin increased at day 2 and then disappeared at day 11. The total free amino acids content increased from 333.18 mg/100 g in the raw to 1096.54 mg/100 g at the end of the dry-ripening. This work provided a mechanism for the accumulation of free amino acids and predicted the proteolysis extent of myofibrillar proteins by monitoring the changes of three marker proteins (MHC, C protein and 50 kDa desmin) during Chinese traditional dry-cured loins processing.